Plane crash at 'gateway to Himalayas' airport

At least 15 people killed and survivors in critical conditions after accident at Nepal's high-altitude Jomsom airstrip.

A plane with 21 people on board has crashed while trying to land at a mountain airstrip near a popular tourist destination in Nepal's northern Himalayas, killing at least 15, authorities said.

Monday's accident happened at Jomsom airport, about 200km northwest of the capital Kathmandu, a gateway to a popular tourism and trekking destination situated more than 2,600m above sea level.

"Fifteen people have been killed. Thirteen of them were Indian tourists and the other two were Nepali pilots," Binod Singh, police spokesman, told AFP news agency on Monday.

"Fifteen people have been killed. Thirteen of them were Indian tourists and the other two were Nepali pilots."

- Binod Singh, police spokesman

"There are six survivors, among them one Nepali air hostess," he added.

Survivors in critical condition were flown by helicopter to a hospital in the nearby city of Pokhara.

The plane hit a mountain while it was turning to land at the airport, Laxmi Raj Sharma, chief government administrator in the area, said, adding that initial investigations appeared to indicate that the plane might have suffered technical problems.

The wrecked aircraft was in pieces but did not catch fire.

Nareswor Aryal, a local police official, said the plane carried two pilots and a flight attendant, along with 16 Indians and two Westerners.

Baburam Bhattarai, the prime minister, issued a statement expressing condolences at the deaths of the 15 people.

Aviation accidents common

The passengers had chartered the flight to take them from the central tourist hub of Pokhara to Muktinath, a sacred place for Hindus and Buddhists at the foot of the Thorong La Himalayan mountain pass, said Rajendra Singh Bhandari, Nepal police regional spokesman.

CHRONOLOGY OF RECENT CRASHES

Aviation accidents are relatively common in this small Himalayan nation:

October 18, 2011: Six people die after military plane crashes

September 25, 2011: At least 19 tourists killed near Kathmandu

December 15, 2010: All 22 on board killed in crash in eastern Nepal

August 24, 2010: At least 14 killed after an Agni Air plane crashes

"A Nepal army barracks was near the accident site which made the rescue of survivors easier," he added.

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Dornier plane belonging to the local Agni Air company. The airline operates three German-built Dornier 228 aircraft, according to the airline's website.

Pramod Pandey, Agni Air marketing manager, said two Danish nationals were among the passengers, although their condition was not known.

"Denmark's embassy in Kathmandu has confirmed that there were two Danes on board the crashed plane. They have been hospitalised," a spokesman for the ministry's consular section said.

The crash was the second deadly air accident for Agni Air in less than two years.

In August 2010 one of the private carrier's Everest-bound planes crashed in bad weather near Kathmandu, killing all 14 people on board, including four US citizens, a Japanese and a British national.

Aviation accidents are relatively common, particularly during the summer monsoon season, when visibility is usually at its worst.

A small Buddha Air plane taking tourists on a sightseeing trip around Mount Everest crashed in September last year, killing all 19 people on board.

Source:Agencies

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